


Der nicht so kleine Vampir

by Steingrimr (Magichild)



Category: Der kleine Vampir | Little Vampire - Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, The Little Vampire (2000), The Little Vampire 3D (2017)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-23 01:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17674208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magichild/pseuds/Steingrimr
Summary: Based heavily on the books/1985 TV Universe: The series not quite as you know it, with Anton and Rudiger 19 and well, 157, the story becomes darker, more mature, and so, turns out quite differently.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Despite beginning waaaay back in 2012, and writing 68 pages so far, I've never posted more than chapter one. So here goes.

The air was dank, and what little light shone through the cracks above caused the moisture on the walls to glitter, and gave the dust-coated cobwebs a strange translucent glow. To some, it would have been a terrifying place - a tomb, filled with spiders, coffins and strange sounds. But to others...to others it was a home.

In a corner sat one of its livelier inhabitants, watching with strange satisfaction as the misty air condensed and dripped slowly down the wall. His eyes were dark and deep set, and his pale, gaunt face with sunken cheeks made him look rather like a skeleton. His clothes were odd too - even though it was 2012, he wore what looked like Victorian evening dress. It looked old enough to be original.

Pushing open her coffin lid, Aunt Hildegard made a show of getting up for the night. She stretched her arms out dramatically, her red-painted talons thrust out at the ceiling, and yawned widely, showing her long fangs to the room.

“Good Evening darling.” smiled Uncle Ludwig warmly, turning away from the tomb wall. Hildegard might not be the easiest person to get on with, but for all of her theatricality and hypochondria, he loved her. 

She flounced over to her husband, watching the droplets fall for a moment too, before moving on to loom over another coffin. This one was a little smaller than the others, and newer. Although by newer, you were still judging in centuries. 

She rapped on the lid sharply.

“Rüdiger?” she demanded, knocking again. “Rüdiger, you have to get up. Your uncle and I have been up for hours. It’s nearly eleven! Even Lumpi is up and out and about.” 

Uncle Ludwig rolled his eyes at the lie, but didn’t say a word. Rüdiger hadn’t been eating lately, simply hanging around the tomb night after night, and worst of all, he was developing bad attitude. He hoped that he wasn’t taking after his son Lumpi. One perpetual rebellious teenager was quite enough - he hoped he wouldn’t’t have to deal with another. 

Slowly the lid of the newer coffin opened, to reveal its scowling occupant, his black hair ruffled by sleep. For a moment they simply looked at each other, then Aunt Hildegard began again.

“Really Rüdiger....” she cried, reaching out a hand to touch his face, from which he recoiled, the scowl deepening. “You look terrible. You haven’t eaten for nights and nights, and your lips are getting so pale.”

He shrugged.

“Maybe I don’t want to eat. Maybe I’m not hungry?”

She shook her head disapprovingly.

“Rüdiger...”

At this, he sprang from his coffin, and sat on its lid heavily, all in one fast, inhuman movement.

“Rüdiger, your aunt is right.” his uncle chided. “You can’t just hang around the tomb all night. You need to go out, go flying, go out and eat something.”

“Alright, alright. Maybe I will. No, I will go out, and I’ll bite every human I see, will that make you happy? I’ll bite dozens of them, scores of them. The whole town - no one will be safe! Will that make you happy? Will that make you leave me alone?”

Shoving past his aunt, he made his way to the dark stairwell which lead to the entrance to the tomb.

“We are just trying to look out for you Rüdiger.” called out his uncle. “There’s no need to act the petulant child.”

“I’m nothing like a child: I’m one hundred and 57 years old, which is exactly why I don’t need you to look out for me. Vampires don’t need anyone to look out for them.” he snapped, and left without another word.

* * *

Anton Besker was in a bad mood. He swung his gym bag absentmindedly around his shoulders as he walked home, his thoughts stuck on his friend Terry. Going to the gym together used to be the highlight of the week, but for the last two months all it had done was remind him that he had lost his only real friend. They had known each other ever since they were born - been neighbors their entire lives. Up until now that is. Teddy had moved away to Toronto for college, while he had had to stay in Edmonton. It didn’t seem fair that Teddy was off having adventures and making friends, while he was forced to stay home on his own, still living with his parents. 

The streets seemed much darker and emptier without him walking next to him, joking and laughing, but tonight there was something else too. Like he was being watched, or followed. It made his neck prickle, and he hurried his step.

* * *

“Anton? Are you home?” 

He sighed, and put down his pencil. He had been working on this panel for over an hour, and nothing he did seemed to look right.

“Yes mooooom,” he called back.

“Your father and I are going to get going now. We won’t be back until one, so we’re taking the keys just in case you want to go to bed before then, so don’t bolt the door, okay honey?”

“I won’t!” 

He tapped his mouth with the pencil. He only had 3 pages left of the story left to draw, and not much time left to do it in, but he hated to leave a panel when he knew it wasn’t perfect. He wanted his work to stand out from the others in the book when it was sent to be printed. ‘Thirty Chilling Tales of Horror: a Graphic Novel Compendium’. That was 29 other artists and stories to compete with...and he didn’t even have an ending for his. He had been hoping that the monster’s face and motive would come to him as he went, but he hadn’t counted on the loss of Teddy.

He’d tried to write him an email a few times, but never knew what to say. There was never anything interesting that happened to him, and he felt stupid just saying ‘hi’ when he was probably off having wild parties and meeting girls and learning how to be independent.

He tried and tried to get something down for hours, but no matter what he did, it just didn’t feel right. He took one last look at his drawing-board, then tossed his pencil onto the bedspread. There was no point trying to force it, he might as well go and get something to eat, maybe watch some horror movies. It might even give him the inspiration that he needed. 

But suddenly there it was again, that crawling on the back of his neck as he walked into the kitchen. He flicked on both of the lights, unnerved, and poured himself a glass of orange juice. 

He knew he was alone. There was only one door, and he’d heard both of his parents leave through it, locking it behind them. More importantly, lived on the 14th floor, so there was no other way anyone could get in or out. It was just a feeling, nothing more.

He walked down the dark hallway - the bulb had blown weeks ago, but no one wanted to get the step ladder out to change it - and looked into the even darker living room at the TV. The feeling was stronger now, even if he knew it was irrational. There was something about the darkness in the room that made him want to run back to the light of his bedroom like a child, and lock the door until his parents came home. He shuddered, and decided to forgo the horror movie - he was scared enough as it was – and after quickly pouring a glass of juice, turned on his heel back toward his bedroom. Although he made sure that his walk was decidedly calm and manly, even if it took some effort. 

Pushing open the bedroom door open with his foot, he screamed as something huge and black flew at him from the from the open window, then stopped short. The juice was spilled, thrown in a great orange arc before the glass broke on the floor, but he was too scared to notice any of that, or even run.

For a second all he saw was a black shape, but then it moved, revealing a face. It was thin, with high cheekbones, and a deathly pale complexion which made its dark ringed eyes even more pronounced. For a moment Anton felt a huge surge of intense terror, paralyzing and as strong as a blow to the face, but then he felt his sense return a little. It was a haunting face, made up like something out of a German Expressionist film, but reassuringly human all the same. Anton found his voice.

“Who...what? How?” he demanded, looking between the figure and his window. 

The boy smirked (which Anton saw clearly the figure was), then leapt off the edge of the bed and started to look around his room, pausing by his drawing-board for a moment, then padding over to his comic book collection.

No longer scared, just confused and angry, Anton followed him.

‘Hey, I don’t know who you are -”

Riiiiiiip.

The stranger had grabbed hold of his vintage King Kong poster and torn it to shreds.

“What are you doing?????” he yelled, but the weird teenager ignored him and dived for his King Kong comic book collection. Pretty sure what was going to happen next Anton threw himself forward too, trying to wrestle him away from the shelf.

At once he found himself thrown to the floor, the boy standing over him, face stormy.

“Do you think you’re stronger than me?” he hissed.

Anton shook his head, his brief moment of anger and relief turning to fear all over again. 

“Good. Because you’re not, human.”

“Human?”

Above him the figure opened its mouth wide, to reveal long, dangerous looking fangs. Anton wished he hadn’t asked. This guy was obviously crazy, and probably dangerous.

“I’m a vampire if you hadn’t noticed. I eat humans like you....are you scared?”

Anton nodded, it seemed to be the response the guy wanted.

“Good.”

But he didn’t seem pleased. He had an odd expression on his face, as if he were bored, angry and disinterested at the same time. He stepped backwards, and clicked off the bedside lamp.

“Don’t you know light is bad for you? Or at least, not this type of light, the other kind. Sunlight.”

Anton eyed the intruder warily.

“Look, I don’t know how you got in here -”

“I flew,” he replied offhandedly. Anton groaned in his head. This guy thought he could fly.

“Uh, okay, but anyway, you need to leave. Um.”

Anton had always thought that if someone broke into his house he’d be quite happy to hide in the closet until they were done looting - he didn’t like his stuff that much. But he’d never considered that anything like this might happen. How could you reason with someone so obviously out of touch with reality?

“I’ll leave when I want to, human.” 

He turned back to the shelf of comic books, and Anton took his chance, jumping to his feet and running out of his room to the front door, but as he grasped the doorknob the intruder was already there, ahead of him. His eyes looked even darker than before, and he was grinning, showing fang.

Anton froze, then had an idea. If the ‘vampire’ was bothered by his bedside lamp, maybe he could repel him with the lamps in the living room? He clapped his hands as loud as he could, activating the large clapper lamp in the living room, hoping it would work.

To his relief the hallway was flooded with light, but the only affect it really seemed to have on the stranger was to make his flinch, his aggressive expression turning to mild shock.

“How did you do that?” he demanded, assault seemingly forgotten. 

“Ugh...magic.” Anton stuttered, trying to stall. It was a lame excuse, but considering how delusional the boy was, it was worth a try. It even seemed to work.

“Magic? You can do magic?” he asked, a spark of interest in his eyes.

“Ugh...yeah.”

“I bet you can’t do this,” he said, voice suddenly cold again, and to Anton’s amazement, the he old rose off the ground and up to the ceiling, where he hovered, looking triumphant.

“No, I can’t.” he admitted, staring up at him with a numb mixture of terror and interest. He knew that what just happened - was happening - was impossible, and that he should be doing something more dramatic. Shouting, fainting, waving his arms, something like that… 

But instead he found himself rejecting it on some level, not believing what his eyes were telling him. He just gazed up at the dark figure, partly silhouetted against the skylight, and wondered what to do now. This was something that happened to the people in his stories, not real life. Not to him. It had been much easier when he was sure he was dealing with a crazy delinquent, and figuring out the details could wait until the situation was over, but now that didn’t seem like a viable option.

Silence stretched on as they both stared at each other, Anton openmouthed, and the boy cross armed with a bad-tempered expression. 

“What’s your name?” the vampire demanded, still floating five feet off the ground.

“Anton.”

“I’m Rüdiger.” he looked down at Anton, scrutinizing. “I bet you haven’t met anyone called Rüdiger before. I’ve met tons of Antons.”

“No. I haven’t met a vampire before either.” he admitted.

Rüdiger laughed, gliding down to the floor once more. “You wouldn’t have. There aren’t many of us around. What do you know about vampires, Anton? Anything at all.”

“Um, a bit, I think. Or at least, I’ve read a lot about them...” 

He was conflicted over whether bunching his shoulders to protect his neck would be a good tactical decision, or if it would attract attention back to the notion of bitings…

“It’s probably not true.” Rüdiger snorted, and without looking back, he stalked off, back into Anton’s room. 

Anton looked longingly for the front door for a moment, but remembering what had happened last time, he decided his best bet was to keep the vampire talking. He got the feeling that if the vampire were there just to kill him, he wouldn’t have introduced himself. Not that the idea he might die felt too real either. 

When he got to his room, Rüdiger was already sitting on his bed, flicking through one of his books. 

“You like vampires, Anton?”

“Yeah...I like all kinds of horror things like that.” he gestured around his room. It was plastered with old movie posters, and the bookshelves were stacked with novels, comics and ‘non-fiction’ books on the supernatural.

“You’ve got good taste in vampire novels” he said, flashing the cover of Bram Stoker’s Dracula at him. “Although I can’t say as much about the rest of it.” He eyed the torn up poster with disgust.

“Well, nothing beats vampires, everyone knows they’re the coolest.” Anton grinned nervously, trying to get on Rüdiger’s good side. It didn’t work though, as the boy visibly deflated.

“Yeah...Could I borrow this?” 

He was taken aback - a minute ago he was acting like he wanted to bite him, now he wanted to borrow his books?

“Borrow?”

“Steal, take, whatever. I might bring it back. No promises. Vampire’s don’t make promises.” he snapped.

“Vampires don’t make promises?”

“No. Vampires look after themselves, and that means no obligations....I could still bite you, you know.” 

The last part seemed as much reassurance for himself as it was a threat to Anton. The vampire just looked sad now, and didn’t seem to be in the mood to bite anyone. 

“Ugh, sure you can borrow it. Borrow anything you want.”

Rüdiger looked down at the book again, but didn’t turn the page. Fear started to rise in him again, and he desperately clutched at things to say to keep the vampire’s thoughts away from biting him.

“So, what do I have wrong about vampires?” he asked hesitantly.

“Everything.”

“Like what? I mean, were you born like this?”

“No.” The vampire looked up at him. “I died. A long time ago.”

“How long ago?” 

Anton was scared now, he was terrified, but he just couldn’t stop his curiosity. He knew that asking questions like that was stupid, but a part of him was desperate to know. It was a whole new world opening up, that is, if this boy really was a vampire. A part of him still found it hard to believe, even after what he’d seen.

“I’m 171, give or take. It all blurs after a while”. Rüdiger fell back onto the bed with a thump, tossing the book onto the floor as he did so. “It’s a long, long time.”

“Yeah...I can’t imagine what it would be like to live that long. And I mean, you’re not going to die or anything. Well, you could die, I guess, right? I mean, if I drove a stake through your heart or pushed you out into the sun -” Anton started to garble, but stopped when he saw Rüdiger’s expression.

“Yeah, well, if you would die too if I bit you and sucked out your blood.”

Anton felt a bit faint.

“Please, come on. I mean, you wouldn’t want my blood, I’m sick, anemia, diabetes, malaria. I have to take pills!”

“Maybe you do, but maybe you’re lying? You don’t smell sick to me, and I haven’t fed in so long,” he growled, sitting up.He expression reminded Anton of a cat hunting. Confident, focused and predatory.

“You don’t need to bite me okay? I mean, I wont tell anyone you were here - they’d think I was crazy! Why don’t we just talk okay? Tell me about vampires, or whatever you want to talk about. We can be friends!”

Rüdiger stopped, but he looked skeptical.

“There’s not much chance of that. Unless you were a vampire. Which can be arranged.” He flashed fang again.

“NO, no thanks.” Anton replied, shaking a little. I was getting a bit too real for him now. Those fangs really did look attached. Not to mention he’d just seen this guy fly around his living room.

Suddenly there was a sound coming from the front door, and they both froze. It was his parents, back early from their party. He could tell it as them from their voices.

“Who is that?” Rüdiger hissed, glaring at the door.

“My parents.” he whispered back, suddenly afraid for them too.

As the front door opened, the vampire shrank back into the shadows, out of sight.

“Anton?” he mother called.

“Y. Yes Mom!” he called back, fear making the words stick in his throat.

“Are you okay? You sound like you’re getting a cold...”

He glanced back at Rüdiger, whose eyes glowed faintly red in the gloom.

“I’m fine mom.”

“Okaaaay. You could get to bed soon though, it’s getting late.”

“Okay mom.” 

She walked away into the livingroom, following his father, and he sighed with relief. He didn’t want them coming in here with a vampire sitting under the window sill.

Speaking of which, Rüdiger was no longer there. Instantly he hunched his shoulders up to protect his neck, and looked behind him and above him, but nothing. He ran over to the wall and switched on all his lights, and opened his closet door. Still nothing. Rüdiger was gone.

* * *

“Anton. ANTON.” someone whispered urgently. 

His eyes snapped open. It had taken him hours to get to sleep, convinced Rüdiger had hidden himself somewhere to lie in wait, but he must have drifted off.

“Anton, show me your parents.” 

“What???” 

It was Rüdiger, standing over him looking grim. At once he shrank back, almost falling out of the other side of the bed.

“My parents? No, why would I show you my parents! You’re a vampire!”

He scowled again.

“What’s that got to do with anything? We both know I’m a vampire.”

“You’ll bite them that’s why - I don’t trust you. Why else would you want to see my parent’s sleep anyway? It’s weird.”

“I don’t want to bite them, I just want to see them, okay?”

Anton shook his head, and the pair looked at each other in silence before Rüdiger roughly grabbed him by the collar and bodily pulled him out of bed and over to the window.

“Oh my god, let me go, let go of me!” he cried, trying hard not to wake his parents, but still desperate to get away. But Rüdiger took no notice, and to Anton’s horror he pulled him up and out of the window. For a dizzying, sickening moment all he saw was the 14 floor drop to the city below, but he didn’t fall. He hovered in the air with Rüdiger, who was still holding his pajamas tightly. 

“Now do you trust me?” he demanded. “I could let you go any time I wanted to, but I’ve not let you go, have I? And I didn’t bite you before either, did I?.”

“Please, please take me back inside,” he sobbed quietly. Rüdiger rolled his eyes distemperedly, but to Anton’s amazement did what he asked. He could have kissed his carpet as the pair glided back into his room.

“Now, show me your parents.”

“Okay, okay,” he whispered, shaking like a leaf. Whatever happened, he never wanted to have Rüdiger do that to him again. It wasn’t like he could stop him doing anything he wanted to anyway, he had just proved that. Maybe it was best to humor him. It had half worked last time after all.

The pair padded gently through the apartment, to his parent’s room, where Anton quietly cracked open the door.

“It’s dark, you wont be able to see them anyway.”

“I have terrific night vision, thanks,” he snapped back. 

They paused for a moment, then Rüdiger snorted, and stalked back to Anton’s room, and hopped onto the window frame, snatching ‘Dracula‘ as he went.

“I forgot this.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Anton was still not feeling the better for his flying session.

“I’ll bring it back, maybe.”

“You’re coming back?” he didn’t like the sound of that.

“Maybe.” The vampire shrugged. “Who knows. Goodbye Anton. Maybe for now, maybe forever.” 

And with that, he launched himself out of the window, and was gone.

Anton bolted the windows with trembling hands, wondering if he was going insane.


	2. Chapter 2

Rüdiger sat on his coffin lid and read. It had been a long time since he had had a book in his hands, and even longer since he had read this one. The author had gotten things all mixed up of course - half of the things weren’t true, and no vampire he had ever heard of acted like the main character. But sometimes he wished they did. 

He was old. Nearing two hundred. And nothing much had happened to him in all that time. It was getting boring. The crypt, blood, and most of all the same old people night after night. And on top of that, he hadn’t even bitten anybody for nights, and he knew that his aunt was going to wail and poke at him again. He just...didn’t want to eat, or do very much of anything. Everything in the world seemed grey and pointless, or else frustrating to the point that he found himself acting in ways that embarrassed him when he thought back to them later.

But for now at least, he could get lost in his book.

“What’ve you got there Rüdiger?” asked his Uncle, peering over his shoulder. 

His peace hadn’t lasted long. It never did. He sighed.

“A book.”

“I can see what it is. I was inquiring as to the title.”

He turned the book around to show him the front cover. It was very over dramatic, a painting of a demonic looking vampire (who bore a striking resemblance to Bela Lugosi) surrounded by lots of swooning women in white dresses. At the top, in a red, dripping font it read ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’.

Uncle Ludwig raised his eyebrow.

“I knew him you know, a long while back.”

Rüdiger turned to fully face the older vampire, suddenly paying rapt attention. He hadn’t known that Dracula was really one of them - though he had heard people make references he had always taken them to be jokes. But his uncle wasn’t the type to joke.

“You mean you’ve actually, really met him? He’s real?”

“He was real, a long time ago, but no more. Of course not like in that book,” he gestured at the novel sadly. “Humans always get it wrong. That was what killed him you know. He was the last of our kind to live openly as a vampire. But they objected to his eating habits, and got out their torches and pitchforks - like they always do - and that was that. And I ask you, is a little nip here and there doing anyone any harm? While they kill to eat day after day without a thought...”

His Uncle paused for a moment, looking conflicted. At first Rüdiger thought that he had finished, and was raising the book to begin reading again when he started to speak again.

“Rudiger. I know you and Lumpi and Anna are lonely here, I understand, but you need to spend your time with our kind, not with them. Lumpi...I need to talk to him about this too, but first I need to know from you, truthfully, how much contact is he having with humans, Rudiger? We know - your aunt and I - that something is going on. You don’t need to pretend it’s not. But it’s dangerous, we can’t let ourselves be exposed -”

“Uncle Ludwig, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.” 

He did, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell his Uncle - for the last few months Lumpi had been associating with a group of humans downtown, pretending to be a human that acted like a vampire in a band that played at underground bars. It was...interesting. Interesting was good.

Uncle Ludvig sighed, knowing that Rudiger knew more than he was going to share. Living with three reckless young vampires was a never ending source of problems. 

“Alright Rudiger. No doubt it will all come out sooner or later... although don’t say I didn’t try to stop it all from happening if something awful happens.   
“Where did you get that book anyway?” 

“I stole it,” he responded automatically. He knew all too well what the punishment for associating with humans was. That was why he had done it, for the thrill, for the conversation, and simply just for the change of scenery. And if he meant to go back it was no one else’s business but his own. 

“Hmm.” his uncle nodded, still eyeing the ridiculous cover, “well mind you don’t stay here all night, You need to go out and feed, or you’ll only upset your aunt again. Although I can’t say I’m not glad to see you doing something worthwhile for a change.”

Knowing it was only a matter of time before his Aunt came back, he tossed the book inside his coffin and resigned himself to the fact that tonight he would have to go out and feed at last. 

* * *  
Anton couldn’t draw fast enough. He didn’t know if he believed what had happened to him last night was real, but whatever it had been - a hallucination or a dream probably - he was filled with inspiration to finish his story. That unforgettable face filled his mind, and he was drawing each panel perfectly first time. The old man, peering into his chimney to find the source of the strange sounds at last, and there, clear as crystal in his imagination, was Rüdiger’s face. All gaunt contrast and sharp angles. 

It was going so well he was almost finished.

“Anton?” he mother asked, knocking only after she had already walked inside. “Wow Anton, that’s looking fantastic.” She shuddered dramatically. “What a terrifying face, it’ll give people nightmares.”

“Heh, thanks.” He smiled.

“Anyway, I just came in to tell you that I’m going out, and your father and I probably wont be back until late again tonight.”

Anton felt his smile slip a little, and his body go cold. He was so sure that last night hadn’t been real, but at the same time, the part of his mind that loved vampires was hoping it might be. Another, more primitive part, was utterly terrified though, and he didn’t feel quite ready to be alone in the house at night again. But it was so stupid and babyish to think it could have been really real. Suddenly he was struck by a thought – the book. If he could find his copy of Dracula he would know for sure.

“ - and he’s strange, but I really hope he buys the house. Anton? Are you listening?” 

Anton looked up guiltily. 

“Anton Besker, you’ve always got your head in the clouds” she laughed, unoffended. “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your work. I just came in to tell you that I’m going.”

He nodded, a sudden headache throbbing, and as soon as she left the room he flew to his bookshelf, scanning every title, at least twice, before rummaging through all the rest of his possessions. 

It wasn’t there.

* * *

Geiermeier looked around the house, unmoved. He understood why he had to put up the pretext of being interested in things like plumbing and damp, but he just wanted to get things over with. This was the only house on the street with a good enough view of the cemetery, and he had travelled such a long way. 

This town, he was certain, was the hiding place one of the last four vampire clans in the entire world. There were another two in Europe, and one more in Australia, but he had decided that this one was the best place to start. Back home, in Germany, there was no doubt that the nearest clan at least would still know of, and be wary of any Geiermeier, but maybe these Canadian vampires had forgotten the signs. 

Not that it was so easy to spot a Geiermeier now - he wasn’t the same bumbling traditionalist his father had been, no. What could be more obvious then dangling garlic about himself, or even using the name ‘Geiermeier’. Instead he wore wooden beads around his wrist and neck soaked in garlic oil, and in his earlobes were even small wooden plugs. The scent didn’t do much for his social life, but it would certainly protect him from fangs.

“Mr. Richter? Would you like to look at the bedrooms now?” asked the blonde estate agent. 

“I don’t think that I need to. I’d like to take the house.” 

He was getting tired of acting like he was interested, and the woman was getting on his nerves.

“Oh.” She floundered, looking at him as if he were insane. “Are you sure you don’t even want to see the upstairs.”

“Very sure. This is the only house I could find so close to the cemetery.”

“Oh.” she paused again, not sure what to make of what he had said. 

“It’s where I work.” he clarified.

Her face lit up with slightly relieved understanding. 

“Oh, that’s interesting. What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m an inspector. I check old cemeteries like this for hazards and damage, and then report back to have it repaired or demolished.”

‘That sounds like an interesting job.” she beamed. It had clearly settled into her head that she had made a sale, and her tentativeness before had been replaced with badly suppressed excitement. He didn’t like her much at all.

* * *

He had checked and double checked, unwilling to accept that the book just wasn’t there. There was an excitement growing in his stomach, mixed with anxiety. If Rudger was real, and a vampire, that was big. World changing. 

No one would believe him, though. No one sane anyway, and that probably meant he was in a lot of danger. You couldn’t call the police and tell them you might be being stalked by a serial killer that could fly. If Rudiger decided he wanted to bite more than he wanted to talk, he was defenceless.

He glanced up at his bookshelf again, scanning for ‘Dracula’ for what must have been the thirtieth time. Almost half of the spines belonged to vampire novels, and his pulse quickened at the thought that he might be living his dream of being a part of one of their stories. Although not enough to stop him being terrified of the prospect.

* * *  
The knock came about thirty minutes after nightfall, and Anton was so on edge he flinched, heart in his mouth. 

There was Rudiger, floating outside of his window, fourteen stories up. It still seemed so impossible that his brain was sure that he was somehow mistaken and on the ground floor, rather than process what he was really seeing.

Hesitantly he walked over and opened the window, letting the vampire flow inside with the ease and fluidity of a cat.

“Hello, Anton,” he grinned toothily and stretched. 

Anton couldn’t’ help but notice the smell that came from his clothes, musty and dank, almost like mouldy bread. 

“Er, hey. Good flight?” Anton replied, unsure what to do. He still didn’t have any idea if this vampire was a friend or an enemy. He didn’t think that even Rudiger knew which he was - he seemed so strange and changeable.

“Good enough,” Rudiger nodded. “Although all the lights in this part of the town really ruin my navigation - they hurt my eyes.”

“Oh. Did you come back to give me my book?” 

“Book?” 

“Dracula.”

“Oh. No,” he looked annoyed. “I’m not done with it, I’ll bring it back when I am. Possibly. But no, I’m hiding out from my relatives.”

“You have relatives? Like, vampire relatives?” Anton asked, suddenly intrigued. It was oddly normalising to imagine Rudiger, with his deathly appearance and fangs, having a mom and dad.

“Yes, of course. Although I’d be a lot happier if there were less of them, or if they minded their own business. But there’s my sister, Anna, my cousin Lumpi, and my Aunt and Uncle. Anna is a bit girly, and Lumpi is strange, but they’re okay. My aunt and uncle though...They don’t approve of us three much.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not,” Rudgier struggled to find the right word, “not vampire enough for them I guess. We were raised here most of our lives, and they are really old, traditional vampires.”

“Ha, like Dracula?” Anton asked. He was so curious, so intrigued, that he was already forgetting his fears. Last night he had been confused and scared and very disbelieving, but after thinking about it, and having it confirmed as not a dream, it was much harder to imagine Rudiger as a threat. For all his pallor and strange clothes, he seemed so human.

“No, not like that. Well, maybe. Not like you think anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“My Uncle knew him,” he grinned.

“That’s impossible, I don’t believe you, Dracula is just a character.” Anton crossed his arms, looking skeptical. “You’re just trying to make me look stupid.”

“Why, Anton, would you need any help looking stupid?”

“ANTON?”

They both froze, as Anton’s mother called out to him from the living room.

“Your parents again?” Rudiger hissed.

Anton nodded as the vampire rolled his eyes, and slid under the bed like a shadow.

“Anton, do you have someone over?” she called, knocking on the door. He knew she would barge in any second.

“No! No mom. I was talking to Teddy on the phone, but he’s gone now.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” she beamed, opening the door. “Is he doing well at school? And settling in okay?” 

“Ugh, yeah, I guess so.” 

“I’m so glad. I mean, he hasn’t called in a while, so I was wondering if everything was okay.” She couldn’t help but notice the change on Anton’s face, and frowned.  
“Everything is alright, isn’t it Anton? Between you two?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, it’s great!” He tried to grin, but he could tell it looked forced.

“You know Anton, I know you’re all grown up now and all, and you might think you’re too old to talk about these things with your mom, but you can still talk to me you know.” 

She sat down next to him on the bed, and Anton couldn’t help but jump, half expecting Rudiger to be discovered. He wasn’t, but he was sure the vampire would be in a much better mood if he could hurry his mother out.

“It’s nothing mom. We just don’t talk as much anymore.”

“And you miss him, don’t you?” she urged, sympathetically.

Anton’s tongue suddenly felt thick, and he looked down at his hands, trying not to cry. It was alright most of the time; not really thinking about it, just being lonely. But having it addressed so bluntly was enough to stir up his emotions again. 

He nodded once.

“Oh Anton,” she sighed, pulling him into a half-hug. “It’ll be alright. He’ll be back soon for the winter break, and I am very sure he wont have forgotten you.  
“But.” she continued, puling away, “it’s not healthy to only have one friend, you know. You’re a bright, likeable boy. A little...strange, maybe, but if you set your mind to it it wont be just Teddy meeting new and interesting people. Maybe even some girls.”

New and interesting people. Well, he had already started doing that.

“Yeah, thanks mom.” he said, smiling for real this time.

“Okay then, you,” she sighed, standing up. “What I really came to tell you is...”

She paused dramatically, spreading her arms and grinning as if she were about to deliver the best news she could imagine.

“I sold the house!”

“That’s great mom!” 

“I know, I know, and the guy just bought it without even looking around it all. But, who am I to keep him from parting with his money? But,” she said with a slight frown, “that means your father and I are going out sooner than we expected, so there wasn’t anything you wanted was there? Pizza money, anything like that?”

“No, I’m fine mom. You’d better go and get ready.” Anton urged.

“I better had.” 

She clapped her hands together, and left.

“She’s gone,” Anton whispered.

“I know that, I’m not deaf,” came a biting voice from below him.

Much less gracefully than he had gotten under, Rudiger wriggled out from below the bed, dragging dust and forgotten bric’a’brak out with him.  
“Now, where was I?” he asked, brushing himself off with disdain.

“You were talking about your uncle. Tell me more about your family, and vampires,” 

“I’ve have a better idea,” the vampire grinned. That grin unnerved Anton a little.

“Ugh, like what?”

“You’ll see.”

And, still grinning, he bounded over to the window, and out. It was clear that Anton was going to suffer from disturbed sleep from now on, with vampires rushing in and out all night. 

He hoped that whatever idea Rudiger had gotten in his head, it was a lot more enjoyable than dangling fourteen stories in the air and watching his dad sleep.

* * *

“Lumpi?”

“Warght?” he growled, trying to pull the coffin lid back down.

“Lumpi, wake up, I want to talk to you.” Rudiger whispered.

Lumpi opened one eye, looking far from impressed. Not that Lumpi ever looked that impressed, or even that awake. Except when he was with his band, anyway.

“What about, little man?”

Rudiger glanced around one more time, checking they were alone. They all might know about Lumpi’s involvement with humans, but he hoped only Anna and he knew how far it went. He wouldn’t put it past his aunt and uncle to spy.

“Lumpi, I need your help. I need to get my hands on some of your human clothes.”

“My clothes? Why?”

“Does it matter why?”

“I guess not,” Lumpi shrugged, yawning. “I hid it all over behind that chest next to Anna’s coffin. Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks Lumpi.” Grinning, Rudiger dropped the lid.

Sure enough, behind the chest he found a small mound of black clothes. They were strange, the style and forms were very different to what he was used to, and it took him a while to find things that were meant to go together, and longer to get it all on right. But he was pretty sure, that, if he had a reflection, he would have looked good.

He was about to run up the steps and out of the tomb when he paused, and grabbed another piece of cloth, grinning. 

 

* * *

Anton thought it was pretty inconsiderate of Rudiger to just fly off and not tell him if or when he’d be back. It could be minutes or days, and he was apprehensive of going to bed - he really didn’t want to be woken up by a face peering out of the gloom again.   
Luckily it was barely midnight when the knock on the door came.

At first he had been confused, wondering why his parents were home so soon, but when he opened the door he was even more surprised. Before him stood Rudiger, only not the hammer horror stereotype who had swooped through his window. In fact, it had taken him a second to recognize who it was. The overall theme was the same, and his clothes were black and ragged, but it all looked a lot more deliberate and modern.

“Er, hi?” 

“Hello Anton,” Rudiger grinned, “are your parents home yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Good. Because I’ve got a present for you.”

He stepped through into the hall and shuddered. 

“That’s the first time I’ve gone through a doorway since I became a vampire.”

“Really?” Anton asked skeptically. “How can you go so long without ever going inside? And what do you mean ‘present’, and why are you dressed like that?”

“I never said it was the first time I’ve been inside. It’s pretty obvious that I’ve done that.” He rolled his eyes. “When you can fly, it’s a lot easier to just use windows. I mean, what’s the point in using doors and stairs when you can just jump between inside and outside instantly? Anyway, who would let me in but you? And as for the rest, you’ll have to wait. But you’ll like it, trust me.”

Anton was about to tell him that no, he didn’t trust him, when he remembered what had happened last time. 

“Why did you use the door this time then?”

“In case your parents were here,” he shrugged. “I’m getting tired of stuffing myself under your bed. Your house smells, but your bed stinks almost as bad as you do.”

“i don’t smell! If anyone smells here it’s you. You smell like my old attic did.”

Rudgier laughed. 

“I know I do, that’s what all vampires smell like. You smell sickly sweet and of all the food and perfumes humans cover themselves in.”

Anton wasn’t sure if he should be offended, or just put it down to Rudgier’s sharper nose. Plus, it wasn’t like smelling like detergent was a bad thing.

“I’d rather smell sweet that like a graveyard.” 

“Well either way, I’m sick of hanging around in here with the smell.”

“No one is making you come over.” Anton pointed out. He had decided that he was offended. Rudiger always seemed to be laughing at him somehow.

“Are you saying you don’t want me here?” he asked, suddenly serious. 

For a second Anton said nothing, not sure how to respond. Of course he didn’t want a blood sucking demon coming in at all hours of the night and telling him he smelt funny. But nothing like this had ever happened before, and probably never would again. And this had been his childhood dream. A vampire friend.

“I don’t not want you here,” he conceded awkwardly. Rudiger’s grinned, and ceremoniously held out a wad of rags he had been hiding behind his back. Anton looked at it, bewildered. Up close it stank. Badly.

“What’s this?” he asked, not sure if he was supposed to take it, or if he wanted to.

“It’s our ticket out of here. Put it on and see.”

“Put it on? Oh.” 

Anton gingerly held the rag between his fingers, and saw that it was actually a cloak, similar to the one which Rudiger had worn before. Trying not to breathe, he swung it over his shoulders.

“What now?”

“Put your fingers though!” the vampire urged, impatiently. 

Anton ruffled through the material until he found the gloves sewn into the fabric, and slipped them over his hands. The smell wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be - it wasn’t really any stronger than it had been before, even though it was a lot closer now.

“Um, what now?”

“Now,” Rudiger grinned, showing off his fangs, threw back his head and raised his arms dramatically, ‘we fly!”

Anton looked skeptical.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No?”

“I’m not a vampire, Rudiger. How can I fly?”

“I could make you a vampire?’ he offered.

Anton stood there for a moment, shocked. He had to admit, in his head at least, that he had often wondered what it would be like. Living forever didn’t sound so bad, and being a vampire was pretty cool by itself. But in reality, he was sure it would be pretty difficult to deal with, sunlight, garlic, never being able to see his parents again...

“Don’t faint, idiot. I was joking, you can fly just as you are, it’s the cloak that does it, not the fangs.”

Anton looked down at the cloak, but his mind was still elsewhere.

“Rudiger?” He asked. “How...how does someone become a vampire anyway?”

Rudiger looked at him strangely.

“I really was only joking you know. No one has been allowed to make another vampire in more than a hundred years. It’d be breaking a whole load of rules, and frankly, I don’t know if I’d want you around forever.”

“Oh...hey.” Anton scowled.

“But, since you asked,” the vampire interrupted, holding his finger up to shush him, “and, if you really want to know, it’s not so different than in the movies.”

“Biting, swapping blood, that kind of thing?”

“Soooort of.” Rudiger mused. “You have to get bitten anyway, and want to be a vampire, really want it. And then of course, you have to die.”

“So you really are undead then?”

“Yeah. That’s why we don’t get any older once it happens, I guess. No one really knows how it all works. It’s not like we’re exactly doing up to the minute with scientific research on it.” 

He shrugged, and Anton held his tongue. He really, really wanted to ask who had made Rudiger a vampire, and what it had been like to die, but it seemed like a very invasive question.

“Come on then, let’s get those smelly, human feet off the ground.” laughed Rudiger. Anton decided that it probably wasn’t something the other boy wanted to talk about. He always seemed evasive when he asked about something specific. It was probably, Anton realised, breaking some kind of rule to tell him. 

“Um, how long will this take exactly? Only my parents will be back at one, and no matter how you’re dressed, they’ll notice something is wrong if I’m flying round and round the living room.”

Rudiger ducked into the other room to glance at the clock, then back. 

“It’s only midnight. That’s plenty of time to tour the city”

“The city?” Anton felt faint. That drop... “I really want to fly but...I would rather get the hang of it in a place where I can’t fall to my death.”

“Oh Anton,” smiled Rudiger with mock warmth, “I wouldn’t let you fall. I didn’t let you fall last night did I?”

“No, but last night reaaally put me of flying, okay?”

Rudiger sighed. 

“Are all humans this boring, or is it just you?”

“Are all vampires this strange, or is it just you?”

“It’s just me. The others would have just drained you and been done with it.”

“Well that, at least, I can be glad about.”

The hour passed by in a blur. After some more convincing Rudiger had finally agreed to give him the ‘basics‘ inside, but possibly only because he couldn’t stand any more of Anton’s pleading. The funny thing was, the moment Anton actually managed to jump off the table and go up instead of down, he’d regretted his decision not to go outside. It didn’t feel so much like flight as being hung in the air. Still, it barely felt like he’d been in the air for more than two seconds before Rudiger grabbed him by his arm and hissed a warning. 

“I can hear someone walking up the stairs.”

“Hm?” 

Anton was still far too engrossed in floating around the kitchen to understand the implications of the statement.

“Your parents?”

“Oh. Oh yeah,” he replied with dawning horror. “Um. How do I get down?”

 

* * *

“Anton?” 

“Ugh, what’s he been doing in here, it smells awful.” muttered his father as he put the keys back into the dish. 

“Anton?” his mother called again.

“Shh, he’s probably asleep.”


End file.
